Weekly Photo Challenge: Gone But Not Forgotten

Amy’s response to this week’s challenge inspired me to dig up the following photos of Monarch butterflies feasting on goldenrods. I took them four years ago at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. Monarch butterflies seem to be disappearing, and they need all the help we can give them.

They have always looked to me as if someone has drawn them onto a photo – the design details of their colouring are simply amazing. Aren’t these the ones that cluster in their millions somewhere in South America, Hien …?

Monarch butterflies live in North America from Canada to Mexico, and they do form giant clusters hanging from trees. I’ve only seen clusters of hundreds of them many years ago, I think it was 1976, in California. In more recent years, with their numbers declining, those clusters are becoming uncommon. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.